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35 The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, saying,

Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak with them, and bring them into the house of Jehovah, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

And I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites,

and I brought them into the house of Jehovah, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.

And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink wine.

And they said, We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, ye nor your sons for ever;

neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor shall ye have [any]; but all your days ye shall dwell in tents, that ye may live many days in the land where ye sojourn.

And we have hearkened unto the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters,

and not to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed;

10 but we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

11 And it came to pass when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come and let us go into Jerusalem because of the army of the Chaldeans, and because of the army of Syria; and we dwell at Jerusalem.

12 And the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, saying,

13 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken unto my words? saith Jehovah.

14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they have drunk none, for they have obeyed their father's commandment. But I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking, and ye have not hearkened unto me.

15 And I have sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them; and ye shall dwell in the land that I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear nor hearkened unto me.

16 Yea, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people hath not hearkened unto me;

17 therefore thus saith Jehovah the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken unto them, but they have not hearkened, and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.

18 And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his injunctions, and have done according unto all that he hath commanded you;

19 therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, There shall not fail to Jonadab the son of Rechab a man to stand before me, for ever.

36 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, [that] this word came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.

It may be the house of Judah will hear all the evil that I purpose to do unto them, that they may return every man from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.

And Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Nerijah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Jehovah, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.

And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up, I cannot go into the house of Jehovah; but go thou in,

and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of Jehovah in the ears of the people in the house of Jehovah upon the fast day; and thou shalt also read them in the ears of all Judah that come from their cities.

It may be they will present their supplication before Jehovah, and that they will return every one from his evil way; for great is the anger and the fury that Jehovah hath pronounced against this people.

And Baruch the son of Nerijah did according to all that the prophet Jeremiah commanded him, reading in the book the words of Jehovah in Jehovah's house.

And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, [that] they proclaimed a fast before Jehovah, for all the people in Jerusalem, and for all the people that came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.

10 And Baruch read in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of the house of Jehovah, in the ears of all the people.

11 And Micah the son of Gemariah the son of Shaphan heard out of the book all the words of Jehovah;

12 and he went down to the king's house, into the scribe's chamber, and behold, all the princes were sitting there: Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.

13 And Micah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read in the book in the ears of the people.

14 And all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thy hand the roll in which thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. And Baruch the son of Nerijah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them.

15 And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. And Baruch read [it] in their ears.

16 And it came to pass, when they heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said unto Baruch, We will certainly report to the king all these words.

17 And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words from his mouth?

18 And Baruch said unto them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote [them] with ink in the book.

19 And the princes said unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; that none may know where ye are.

20 And they went in unto the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they told all the words in the ears of the king.

21 And the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll, and he fetched it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes that stood beside the king.

22 Now the king was sitting in the winter-house in the ninth month, and with the fire-pan burning before him.

23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four columns, he cut it with the scribe's knife, and cast it into the fire that was in the pan until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was in the pan.

24 And they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, [neither] the king nor any of his servants that heard all these words.

25 Moreover, Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll; but he would not hear them.

26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but Jehovah hid them.

27 And after that the king had burned the roll, and the words that Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying,

28 Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.

29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith Jehovah: Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from it man and beast?

30 Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.

31 And I will visit their iniquity upon him, and upon his seed, and upon his servants; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; and they have not hearkened.

32 And Jeremiah took another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Nerijah; and he wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah, all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and there were added besides unto them many like words.

37 And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon having made him king in the land of Judah.

And neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, hearkened unto the words of Jehovah, which he had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah.

And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto Jehovah our God for us.

And Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they had not put him into prison.

And Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they went up from Jerusalem.

And the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to inquire of me: Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.

And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

Thus saith Jehovah: Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans are certainly gone away from us; for they are not gone.

10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained [but] wounded men among them, [yet] should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

11 And it came to pass when the army of the Chaldeans was gone up from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army,

12 that Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to have his portion there among the people.

13 And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Thou art deserting to the Chaldeans.

14 And Jeremiah said, It is false: I am not deserting to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him; and Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

15 And the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in the place of confinement in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.

16 When Jeremiah was come into the dungeon and into the vaults, and Jeremiah had remained there many days,

17 king Zedekiah sent and took him out. And the king asked of him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from Jehovah? And Jeremiah said, There is; and he said, Thou shalt be given into the hand of the king of Babylon.

18 And Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in the prison?

19 And where are your prophets that prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

20 And now hear, I pray thee, my lord, O king: let my supplication, I pray thee, come before thee; and cause me not to return into the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard, and they gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was spent. And Jeremiah abode in the court of the guard.

The Rekabites

35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim(A) son of Josiah king of Judah: “Go to the Rekabite(B) family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms(C) of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God.(D) It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum(E) the doorkeeper.(F) Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab[a](G) son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine.(H) Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents.(I) Then you will live a long time in the land(J) where you are nomads.’ We have obeyed everything our forefather(K) Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops.(L) 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded(M) this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem(N) to escape the Babylonian[b] and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell(O) the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson(P) and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. 14 ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command.(Q) But I have spoken to you again and again,(R) yet you have not obeyed(S) me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets(T) to you. They said, “Each of you must turn(U) from your wicked ways and reform(V) your actions; do not follow other gods(W) to serve them. Then you will live in the land(X) I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened(Y) to me. 16 The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather(Z) gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster(AA) I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen;(AB) I called to them, but they did not answer.’”(AC)

18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather(AD) Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ 19 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail(AE) to have a descendant to serve(AF) me.’”

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim(AG) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Take a scroll(AH) and write on it all the words(AI) I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah(AJ) till now. Perhaps(AK) when the people of Judah hear(AL) about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn(AM) from their wicked ways; then I will forgive(AN) their wickedness and their sin.”

So Jeremiah called Baruch(AO) son of Neriah,(AP) and while Jeremiah dictated(AQ) all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll.(AR) Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting(AS) and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated.(AT) Read them to all the people of Judah(AU) who come in from their towns. Perhaps they will bring their petition(AV) before the Lord and will each turn(AW) from their wicked ways, for the anger(AX) and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”

Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord’s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. In the ninth month(AY) of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting(AZ) before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 10 From the room of Gemariah(BA) son of Shaphan(BB) the secretary,(BC) which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate(BD) of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the Lord’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll.

11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the secretary’s(BE) room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan(BF) son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.(BG) 13 After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, 14 all the officials sent Jehudi(BH) son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll(BI) from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”

So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear(BJ) and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write(BK) all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”

18 “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated(BL) all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

19 Then the officials(BM) said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide.(BN) Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi(BO) to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king(BP) and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment,(BQ) with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll,(BR) the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire.(BS) 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear,(BT) nor did they tear their clothes.(BU) 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah(BV) and Gemariah(BW) urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest(BX) Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden(BY) them.

27 After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,(BZ) the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll(CA) and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it(CB) both man and beast?”(CC) 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim(CD) king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out(CE) and exposed(CF) to the heat by day and the frost by night.(CG) 31 I will punish him and his children(CH) and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster(CI) I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.(CJ)’”

32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated,(CK) Baruch wrote(CL) on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned(CM) in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Jeremiah in Prison

37 Zedekiah(CN) son of Josiah was made king(CO) of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he reigned in place of Jehoiachin[c](CP) son of Jehoiakim. Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention(CQ) to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.

King Zedekiah, however, sent(CR) Jehukal(CS) son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah(CT) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: “Please pray(CU) to the Lord our God for us.”

Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.(CV) Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt,(CW) and when the Babylonians[d] who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew(CX) from Jerusalem.(CY)

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire(CZ) of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched(DA) out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.(DB) Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture(DC) it and burn(DD) it down.’

“This is what the Lord says: Do not deceive(DE) yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not! 10 Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian[e] army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn(DF) this city down.”

11 After the Babylonian army had withdrawn(DG) from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property(DH) among the people there. 13 But when he reached the Benjamin Gate,(DI) the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!”(DJ)

14 “That’s not true!” Jeremiah said. “I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested(DK) Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten(DL) and imprisoned(DM) in the house(DN) of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.

16 Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. 17 Then King Zedekiah sent(DO) for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked(DP) him privately,(DQ) “Is there any word from the Lord?”

“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered(DR) into the hands of the king of Babylon.”

18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime(DS) have I committed against you or your attendants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets(DT) who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? 20 But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.”(DU)

21 King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread(DV) in the city was gone.(DW) So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.(DX)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 35:6 Hebrew Jonadab, a variant of Jehonadab; here and often in this chapter
  2. Jeremiah 35:11 Or Chaldean
  3. Jeremiah 37:1 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin
  4. Jeremiah 37:5 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 9, 13 and 14
  5. Jeremiah 37:10 Or Chaldean; also in verse 11